By Emily Hanson || Arts and Leisure Editor
The long-anticipated action game Hogwarts Legacy is finally out! The video game, based in the universe of the Harry Potter novels, was released for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles and became available for purchase on February 10th, 2023. It is currently slated for release on the Nintendo Switch in July 2023.
Luckily, I was able to get access to the game on a PS5 and have now devoted many hours to it, so I have a lot to say! If you don’t own a PS5 yet, fret not because you can still play games thanks to sites like 카지노사이트.
Firstly, the game is open-world and allows your character, who can be named and customized (I am unoriginal and went with Emily Hanson, but she does have pink hair!), to explore the world of Hogwarts in the 1800s. Thus, we aren’t met with any characters we know and love from the Harry Potter universe, but there are certainly some surnames you may recognize, which was a welcome surprise to see within my first sitting of the game. Users are also able to choose their own Hogwarts House, which provides you with your own unique common room (I love the sunny, botanical disposition of the Hufflepuff common room) and even a slightly different aspect to the storyline.
I have also been genuinely amazed by the amount the creators packed into the game. There are Hogwarts classes, naturally, and all of the professors are interesting and well-imagined original characters. Your character is a student beginning in their fifth year, so you need to catch up to your peers, and sometimes you have special assignments and tasks to complete before learning new spells, which is fun. Try your hand at specialty games like sic bo and craps at casino seuz for a unique gaming experience. The game is never without a task to complete, between the main storyline (a goblin rebellion during the Industrial Revolution), the side quests with friends you make, and your upcoming magical exams. I had fun learning the combat controls in the game, and blasting enemies with magical spells I grew up reading about is something I never knew I wanted so badly. Fans of the series will certainly appreciate the details applied to the huge castle, the surrounding areas (Hogsmeade!), and the little easter eggs.
I must address the elephant in the room: many people are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy due to its connection to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been criticized of late for harmful comments about trans and queer communities. I completely respect the boycott, and I agree with the complaints about her. According to the official Hogwarts Legacy website, Rowling was not involved in the development or production of the game, but she will profit from the sales. All I can say is, if you know someone who already has the game, try your best to play it, even just some. I have definitely been surprised by how much it has exceeded my expectations. The story is well thought out, if a bit similar to its source material, and I appreciated a new addition to the universe I grew up loving. Fans who were hoping to just get to see themselves attending Hogwarts and learning magic like Harry were surely completely satisfied.
That being said, I was surprised how much I was bothered by in Hogwarts Legacy. As a disclaimer, I do not dislike this game, but I certainly don’t feel bad picking it apart. My number one least favorite aspect is the complexity of accomplishing tasks, like equipping new gear, selecting a new quest, or even traveling. Many missions require users to go back and forth between places, and I still haven’t adapted to all the tabs I need to sift through or the twelve buttons I need to click before I can get going. I understand that a huge part of Hogwarts Legacy is the ability to explore the castle, but if I simply want to play the storyline, it should be just that: simple.
I also feel very singled out as the only character who can change my outfits and robes. I feel like the chosen one, always running around the castle in checkered yellow robes when everyone else is in boring gray. It would be cool to have other students with funky hats, outfits, or even just more than ten students total in Hogwarts (every single cutscene has the same exact students!). It feels like my Hogwarts class is the same twenty people, and it makes the game extremely repetitive and almost empty-feeling.
My final complaint about the game is the inconsistency in rules and laws. During some quests, I must sneak around Hogwarts at night, using an invisibility spell to keep me concealed. But other times, I can run around the castle, and outside the castle, well past “curfew” and never face consequences. This is also true of spells; for those who don’t know, within the Harry Potter universe, some magic is “unforgivable,” notably one spell, which kills its victim instantly. But my character not only uses that spell, she also kills enemies with other spells, which is consistent with similar video games but inexplicable in this universe. I’m a fifteen-year-old student who goes around just killing people, apparently. As if my professors wouldn’t notice. I’d love slightly more consequences, or at least a path to become a dark wizard, or something. Maybe the game developers will take me up on that.
Overall, based on my progress so far, I’d give Hogwarts Legacy 3.5/5 stars. But I’d definitely recommend playing it yourself to see what you think. Don’t forget to check out some video game guides if you need extra help along the way!
Emily Hanson is the Arts and Leisure Editor. Her email is ehanson@fandm.edu.